FanHouse MVPPowerRankings

Whenever the mood strikes, FanHouse will break down the current leaders in the race for league MVP. Ground rules: injuries matter, and so do recent events.

1. Kobe Bryant: Recent events are important in these rankings, so Kobe's 52 against Dallas and his 41 in Shaq's first game in Phoenix pushes him to the top for now. In addition to being dominant over the strong teams, Kobe has completely stepped aside and facilitated his teammates' production in blowout wins against bad teams like Seattle, Miami, and the Clippers. Kobe has the sense this season to involve his teammates when he can, and to take games over when he has to. That, along with the Lakers' rise to the top spot in the West, is why I have Kobe number one.

1.5. LeBron James: These are my rankings, and I can number them any way I want to. Besides, the race is so close between Kobe and LeBron at this point that they're not even really a full position apart. LeBron has been just as dominant as Kobe, and if not for the Cavs' being fourth best in the East, he might have the one spot. But even as great as LeBron has been, he just hasn't been able to elevate his team to that elite level yet. And although Cleveland's management did what they could to give him some help, the fact remains that the Cavs are really no better than the fourth best team in the horrendous Eastern Conference. But fear not, Cavs fans. With Cleveland playing Detroit four times in the last month of the season, LeBron will definitely have the opportunity to retake the lead in these rankings.

Whenever the mood strikes, FanHouse will break down the current leaders in the race for league MVP. Ground rules: injuries matter, and so do recent events.

1. LeBron James: Not only has LeBron dominated in two meetings over the player holding down the two spot in these rankings, but he's now dragging his bench to victory on a nightly basis. The Cavs are without -- get this -- Drew Gooden, Anderson Varejao, Sasha Pavlovic, and now Daniel Gibson, who combined have a scoring average of about 37 a night. They're being replaced by the likes of Ira Newble, who sounds like he should be LeBron's tax man, not his starting power forward. Even with all of these players missing, the Cavs are 16-6 over their last 22 games, and it's all thanks to LeBron.

2. Kobe Bryant: His scoring is down a little this year because Kobe's modified his style a bit for the team's greater good: and it's working. Before Andrew Bynum went down, the Lakers were among the league's top teams. With Kobe getting his teammates involved like never before (seriously ... Sasha Vujacic is good all of a sudden?), he may be more deserving then ever of his first MVP, even with the lower scoring average. And with the addition of Pau Gasol, that should only help Kobe's chances because the Lakers will likely be playing deep into the post-season.